Cornwall Plus, which provides summer accommodation for visitors on the university campus in Penryn, has been selected as a finalist in the International Visitor Experience of the Year category in the Cornwall Tourism Awards.

The company lets out 1,500 student rooms during July and August as Glasney Rooms and Glasney Flats and around 20 per cent of guests come from overseas – particularly Germany and the rest of Europe. Some of those are independent travellers, whilst others are part of organised groups and tour operators.

As a trading subsidiary of Falmouth Exeter Plus, which manages services and facilities on behalf of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, Cornwall Plus re-invests all profits from the annual enterprise into the campus for the benefit of students and staff.

“This is the first time that we’ve entered the awards and we’re thrilled to have been nominated,” said sales development manager Lisa Ogden. “We offer affordable apart-hotel style double and twin en suite bedrooms and flats during the height of the summer season and this year we welcomed around 8,000 visitors.

“We work with specialist tour operators for the German and Dutch markets and our website has Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish, Spanish and Swedish translations. Being shortlisted means a lot to us."

There were 180 entries from tourism businesses across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly this year. Judging is rigorous and includes a three-stage process that begins with an examination of each application and the entrant’s digital activities. Mystery visits are then organised and reported on before final decisions are made by independent panels.

The winners will be announced on November 2 at the Headland Hotel in Newquay.